


my feet are off the ground

by kat777



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Ladybug Appreciation, Roller Coasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 08:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5659699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kat777/pseuds/kat777
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite Marinette's valiant efforts to rally her classmates, no one is willing to go on the new Ladybug coaster with her.</p><p>No one except Adrien.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have fallen into Miraculous Ladybug and I can't get out.
> 
> Marinette is my sweet awkward heroic daughter and she _loves_ being Ladybug. She especially loves when people build roller coasters in her honour.
> 
> Title of fic is from the English dub version of the Miraculous Ladybug theme song. ~~Because when Mari's on the roller coaster...her feet will be off the ground...get it? ...I'm so sorry, I wasn't built for puns.~~

Ladybug was _huge_.

Okay, Ladybug the superhero was pretty tiny, as Marinette knew better than anyone, and actual ladybugs were downright miniscule. But Ladybug _the roller coaster_? Was. Huge. It sprawled across the theme park before Marinette’s awestruck eyes, gleaming scarlet with black spots, larger than life. The tallest coaster in France with a drop so steep it made you dizzy (or nauseous, poor Ivan!) just to look at it.

The best part? It was built in Marinette’s honor.

Marinette loved her city. She loved it in the bright sunshine and the pouring rain, on a quiet morning or a busy afternoon. She loved its amazing historic sites as well as its ordinary nooks and crannies, and she loved its people. So when she’d been offered the chance to protect it all—her city, her _home_ —she’d jumped at the chance.

Now here she was over two years later, staring at proof that as much as she loved Paris, she was just as loved in return. She pressed a hand to her purse, felt it rise and fall beneath her palm as Tikki napped away inside. _Thank you so much, Tikki. Thank you so much for_ everything _. I’m so glad you chose me._

“Girl, I feel you,” Alya whispered, patting her shoulder soothingly. “That thing is _scary_ , I wanna cry, too.”

 _Oh. Oops._ Marinette wiped at her eyes as inconspicuously as possible, hoping no one other than her best friend had noticed the tears gathering there. Their classmates were still debating which ride to go on next, so she figured she was in the clear.

“It’s not that,” Marinette said honestly. “I was just thinking that Ladybug must’ve been so touched when she saw it at the unveiling.” She had been, and the feeling still hadn’t worn off, hence the waterworks.

Alya pouted.

 _Ahhh, bad Marinette!_ She’d forgotten for a second that Alya had been sick in bed that day, and so she hadn’t been able to film the event for the Ladyblog. (“This is the biggest disappointment  _of my life_! A _roller coaster_ for _Ladybug_ and I didn’t get to record her first time riding it! I’m never gonna get over this, Marinette, I’ll have a black cloud of despair hanging over me _every day_ for _FOREVER_!” Alya had wailed over the phone in a croaky voice, and then there had been a loud honking sound as she very obviously blew her nose.)

 _Fix it, fix it!_ “I mean, that’s what she said in her _exclusive interview_ with you, right?” An exclusive interview that Marinette had arranged by ‘accidentally’ bumping into Alya while in costume a few days later.

It had snapped Alya out of her wallowing then, and a reminder was enough to get her to perk up now. “Yeah, she did! She kept saying how happy she was to be able to protect Paris, and she thanked everyone over and over for being so supportive of her and Chat Noir. She even hugged me at the end and thanked me for being such a dedicated fan! _Ladybug_ , Marinette! Ladybug _hugged me_ and _thanked me_ for being a _dedicated fan_!”

There were practically stars in her eyes. Maybe Marinette had gone a _little_ over the top in trying to cheer her up with that interview, but Alya definitely deserved it. Not only was she genuinely a dedicated fan to Ladybug, she was an even _more_ loyal and caring friend to Marinette, and most of all she was an all-around wonderful person.

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Marinette said, laughing. Their classmates had abandoned their argument to watch Alya’s fangirling, so she asked them, “Did you guys pick a ride yet?”

It was Alix who responded, glaring at them with her hands on her hips. “Not yet. We were _hoping_ for some input from our President and Vice-President since you guys organized this trip in the first place.”

Marinette glanced at the uncharacteristically embarrassed expression on Alya’s face and realized she was on her own for once. Luckily, she was ready with an excuse.

“We were actually just talking about that,” she lied.

Chloe, of course, didn’t buy it. “Oh, really? That’s not what it sounded like.”

“We got sidetracked,” Marinette allowed, forcing her lips into a benevolent smile, “but before that we were talking about how we wanted to ride the Ladybug next.”

The effect on her classmates was immediate. Kim squeaked, Sabrina paled, and Ivan turning an alarming shade of green and ran to the nearest restroom. Everyone else just stared at her in horror, including her own best friend who was _supposed_ to be backing her up!

Alix looked at Alya doubtfully. “You really want to ride that monster?”

“ _No_!” Marinette glared, and Alya backtracked, “I—I mean, Marinette and I talked it over just like she said, but then I changed my mind and said I didn’t want to ride it after all.”

“At least _one_ of you isn’t totally stupid.”

“Okay, so Alya will sit this one out,” Marinette said, proud of herself for ignoring one of Chloe’s snide comments. “You don’t mind looking after our bags, do you?”

“Not at all, I’m happy to do it!” Alya said, looking like she’d won the lottery. “The rest of you can go have fun!”

“Er,” Nathanael said. Beside him, Max started coughing. Mylene announced that she thought Ivan had been gone too long, and then ran off.

“But he’s in the boy’s washroom! You can’t even go inside!” Marinette called after her. Oddly, Mylene didn’t seem to hear.

Marinette looked disbelievingly from one unwilling face to the next. Alya had a blog dedicated to Ladybug! Chloe cosplayed as Ladybug! Marinette had saved every single one of her classmates several times over, and yet no one wanted to go on her roller coaster?

“I can’t believe this!” she exploded, throwing her hands up in the air. “A roller coaster built in honour of one of Paris’ heroes, and _none_ of you want to ride it? Ladybug is brave enough to risk her lives for all of yo— _us_ almost every day of her life, and yet not a single one of you has the courage to show your appreciation and support for her when handed the perfect opportunity on a silver platter?”

Rose, bless her heart, looked moved by Marinette’s passion. She was the only one.

“That thing is like a third of the height of the Eiffel Tower!” Alix protested.

“Well, yes, but—”

Kim didn’t let her finish. “The first drop is almost at a ninety degree angle!”

“That’s true, but—”

She was ignored again. “There’s three loop-de-loops and you go through one of them _three times_!”

“Okay, but—”

“Three times!” Nathanael echoed Max, sounding on the verge of hysterics. “And the second time, you’re going _backwards_!”

“But—”

“Marinette,” Juleka interrupted her. “I admire Ladybug just as much as the next person, but that roller coaster is a death trap.”

It was the longest sentence Marinette had ever heard her voluntarily say. _There’s no hope,_ she realized, heart sinking, but she turned to Rose anyways.

“Sorry, Marinette,” Rose said. “You can still go on it, though, we’ll wait for you!”

“Yes, Marinette, we’ll wait for you.”

Chloe’s smug tone had Marinette grinding her teeth together to keep from screaming. “No, no. If no one else wants to go on it, we’ll move on to something else.”

“Are you too scared to go on it by yourself?” Sabrina asked.

“No!” No one seemed to believe her, and there was no way she could explain that she’d actually been on the coaster over a dozen times already. The first time by herself, and the rest with Chat Noir. They’d raced each other through the empty line-ups over and over again like little kids, ducking under ropes and jumping over bars, even though the operator always waited until they were both buckled into the front car together to start the ride. “I just don’t think it’s fair for the rest of the class to wait around while I get to have fun.”

Alya put a comforting arm around her shoulders and said, “I’m sure if you come back with your parents one of them will—Nino!”

“Nino?” Marinette asked, startled. “What about Nino?”

She looked in the direction Alya was pointing and saw Nino and Adrien walking towards them. Adrien had said he’d accidentally left something important behind at the picnic tables where they’d had lunch, so he and Nino had gone back to look for it while the rest of them decided which ride to go on next.

She couldn’t justify making her classmates wait just for her, but if _Nino_ also wanted to go…

“Nino!” Marinette hollered, taking off in a sprint. “ _NINOOO_!”

 _He’ll say yes for sure,_ she thought to herself giddily as her feet pounded across the pavement. _He was raving about the roller coaster earlier! He said he’d been waiting for a Ladybug or Chat Noir themed ride and he was really stoked that they finally built one!_

“Marinette, _what_?” Nino spluttered, his hands raised defensively in front him. She’d only just managed to avoid slamming into him, and he probably needed a minute to restart his heart.

Marinette wasn’t willing to wait a minute. She grabbed his arm and had dragged him all the way back to the group, Adrien trailing after them in bewilderment, before Nino finally protested.

“What the heck are you doing?” he asked, digging his heels in. It didn’t do much.

“We’re gonna ride the Ladybug coaster!” Marinette said, barely noticing that he was attempting to wrench his arm out of her grasp and failing miserably.

He stopped struggling. “What.”

“The Ladybug coaster, c’mon!”

Nino waved his free arm at his best friend and wailed, “Save me, dude!”

Adrien obediently grabbed the flailing limb and _pulled_. Marinette, not expecting that much resistance, was yanked back into Nino, which knocked him into Adrien.

“Oof!” They ended up in a graceless heap on the floor.

“Oh my gosh, are you guys okay?” Alya’s voice demanded from somewhere above them.

Marinette blinked. Blinked again. Blinked a third time. There was a butt in her face, and it was one she recognized from nearly two years of stealthy ogling.

Adrien’s butt was in her face.

She’d gotten a _lot_ better with Adrien in a lot of ways over the course of the past year—she could talk to him one-on-one using coherent sentences, the pull-down schedule was gone forever, and she periodically rotated her desktop wallpaper instead of leaving it as an Adrien collage all the time—but even though they were basically friends now, sometimes she still lost her cool around him.

Like when his butt was in her face, for instance.

“ _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK_!” She scrambled to her feet, still screeching.

Alya grabbed by the shoulders and shook her a little. “Get it together, girl!” she yelled. Marinette immediately fell silent, so Alya let her go.

Adrien and Nino were still on the floor, but they’d managed to maneuver themselves into sitting positions and now they were staring at Marinette.

 _Oops._ She offered them both a hand. They continued to just stare, so she grabbed Adrien with her left hand and Nino with her right, pulled them to their feet simultaneously with ease, and then released them.

“Sorry,” she said, which felt a little inadequate. “I wanted to go on the Ladybug coaster.”

She zeroed in on Nino, betrayal in her eyes. “You _said_ you were _stoked_.”

“I am!” Nino said, finally recovering. “I'm stoked that they built it, because I think Ladybug totally deserves it. But I don’t actually want to ride it. I’m— I’m scared of roller coasters, okay?”

“Oh. Oh, Nino, I’m sorry.” Marinette felt _terrible_. Nino was stoked on _her_ behalf (even if he didn’t know it), and how had she repaid him? By almost dragging him onto his worst nightmare, knocking him over, and screeching so loudly she probably shattered his ear drums.

“It’s all right, don’t worry about it. I hope there’s someone else you can go with?” When she shook her head sadly, he frowned and said, “Aww, Marinette, that really sucks! I’m really sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marinette echoed him, smiling, but as soon as he turned his head to pay attention to whatever Alya was saying, her smile fell into a pout.

“I’ll go with you,” Adrien said suddenly.

“What?”

He grinned at her. “I’ll go with you on the Ladybug coaster. It looks like fun.”

“Really? Oh, thank you, Adrien!” She almost hugged him, but restrained herself just in time.

She gave her purse to Alya to hold, then took Adrien’s hand and tugged him in the direction of the line, ignoring the disbelieving muttering she could hear behind her. 

“It looks like _fun_? What does he mean, it looks like _FUN_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need more canon interaction between Marinette and Nino! I need Marinette and Nino friendship!!!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this and are having a nice day!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading last chapter, and for all the kudos and comments! The response to this fic has made my entire week :)

Adrien was perfectly fine right up until _The Climb_.

He’d been patient while they waited in line. Quietly excited as they’d settled into one of the cars (all black with red spots, an inversion of the coaster itself) and buckled their seat belts. Barely suppressing a grin when a staff member had come by to inspect the locks on their safety restraints.

When the train had finally started moving, he’d looked at Marinette and smiled in delight upon noting the gleam in her eyes and the flush in her cheeks. He was on a roller coaster with one of the prettiest, sweetest, most courageous girls he knew. Who wouldn’t smile?

But then came _The Climb_.

Adrien had been on this ride over a dozen times already, and slowly ascending the first hill had never once failed to leave him shaking in gleeful anticipation.

He was shaking now, all right, but there was nothing gleeful about it.

Sitting at the very front had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now… _Was it always this far to the top? Did I just never notice how high up the first drop was? Does the suit really make that much of a difference, or was it having Ladybug beside me?_

He glanced at Marinette again and tried to push past his fear. _She_ hadn’t been on this ride before, and certainly not while wearing a borderline-invincible superhero suit, yet she didn’t look the slightest bit scared. She looked cool, calm, and in control; her facial features totally relaxed, her hands gripping the restraints so tightly her knuckles turned white…

_Oh, sh—_

“Marinette, are you okay?” he asked, trying to convince himself there was no need to panic yet. Maybe she was just _that_ excited.

“Adrien,” she said, and his dread subsided even as they finally reached the top and leveled off. Her voice was perfectly steady.

_See? False alarm._

“Yes?” They only had seconds until the drop.

“Adrien. I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

_Well._

_Well, then._

There was only one thing left for Adrien to do as they plummeted towards the earth: scream like his life depended on it.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!” Marinette screeched, which didn’t really harmonize that well with his yelling, but then they were suddenly rocketing back upwards and they both started laughing.

“AHAHAHA—AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” he went back to shrieking when they reached the first loop, but Marinette just laughed even harder.

“YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?” he demanded once they were right-side up again.

“YES!” she shouted back, and she was grinning so wide it was impossible to be mad.

_Kinda reminds me of—_

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” They’d reached the second loop, and Adrien somehow wasn’t prepared for it.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” There were tears leaking out of the corner of Marinette’s eyes.

“YOU’RE THE WORST FRIEND I’VE EVER HAD!” Adrien lied through his teeth. “THE ACTUAL _WORST_! I HAVE A _LIST_ , AND YOU’RE AT THE _BOTTOM_ —”

“ST—STOP, ADRIEN!” Marinette choked out, her entire face red. “MY _STOMACH_ —”

Adrien hadn’t been ready for the first loop. He hadn’t been ready for the second. He would be ready for the third if it _killed_ him—

He was ready for the third loop. He wasn’t ready to go through it again _backwards_.

The noise he made when the train abruptly reversed was inhuman.

Marinette was now laughing so hard no sound came out, and where she tried to speak she ended up wheezing, “OH G—GOD, I CAN’T BR— CAN’T BRE—BR—BREATHE!”

She managed somehow, even when they reversed directions again and Adrien went back to yowling like a cat that had its tail stepped on.

“Y—You’re a medical miracle,” Adrien gasped as the train slowed to a stop in the station. “Or a _liar_.”

Marinette didn’t reply, too busy gulping in lungfuls of air like she’d been denied all her life. A staff member came by to undo the locks on their restraints, and Adrien had to unbuckle Marinette’s seat belt for her because she was still trying to catch her breath. He helped her out of the car and then steered her to the exit.

“Okay,” she said eventually. “Okay, okay, I’m okay.”

He released her shoulders. “So what did you think? Ladybug-worthy?” He certainly thought so, and Ladybug had as well.

The smile Marinette gave him was _radiant_ , and his heart stuttered in his chest.

_No, no, don’t do that._ His heart gave no response.

“YES! That was so amazing, Ladybug must’ve loved it! They need to make one for Chat Noir, like, yesterday. He’d literally swoon.”

She was right on all counts, but her confidence took him by surprise. She spoke like she _knew_ Chat, but she’d only had a handful of encounters with his superhero alter-ego over the past two years. She certainly knew Adrien, though. Maybe Chat felt familiar to her.

_Or maybe…_

The eager bounce in her step as they’d made their way through the line. _Familiar._ Her hysterical laughter when he’d involuntarily done something cat-like. _Familiar._ Her smile, and what it did to his heart. _Definitely familiar._

_Maybe…_

_No._ That was a dangerous road to go down for a number of reasons, something he'd had to tell himself more times than he cared to admit. _It took too long for Marinette to grow comfortable enough to be friends with me to ruin it all now over some crazy theory that’s…_

_It’s too good to be true._

Something in his face made Marinette's smile fall, and he didn’t want that.

“A roller coaster for Chat Noir, huh?” He feigned a smirk. “What’ll they name it? The R _alley_ _Cat_ ster?”

It had the intended effect. She scrunched her nose up and said flatly, “I’m revoking your citizenship and sending you to that garbage heap in the Arctic Ocean. You belong there. Your people are waiting for you.”

“Marinette, I don’t think anyone actually lives there.” He nudged her shoulder and teased, “Is this your way of saying you think I’m one of a kind?”

Her shoulders heaved with the force of her exaggerated sigh. “For the sake of the human race, I certainly hope you are.”

“You’re so vicious! I used to think you were nice, you know.”

“I used to think you were cool.”

“ _Marinette_ ,” he complained.

“Marinette!” someone else called. It was Alya, phone in one hand and waving at them with the other. Nino was with her, holding both their bags, but the rest of the class was nowhere to be seen.

“ _Ugh_. What do you wanna bet Chloe has something to do with this?” Marinette grumbled.

She was right, of course.

“Chloe convinced them to line up for the bumper cars,” Alya said, as Nino handed their stuff over.

“They went on the bumper cars without us?” Adrien asked in dismay, discreetly pawing through his bag and noting with relief that Plagg was still snoring away inside. He’d disappearing earlier during lunch, scaring the daylights out of Adrien and forcing him to go back and look for the Kwami while distracting Nino at the same time. It turned out that Plagg had run off after some poor soul who’d made the mistake of ordering extra cheese on his pizza.

“They just left a minute ago, so they might still be in line. If we hurry up, we can go too,” Nino said, already walking away.

Adrien caught up to him and asked, “You risked not getting to go on the bumper cars just to wait for us?”

“Anything for my best bro!” Nino threw an arm around his shoulders, and Adrien got a little emotional. Nino _loved_ bumper cars.

But then Nino leaned in to add in a whisper, “And my best bro’s _girlfriend_.”

“Ninoooo,” Adrien whined, casting an anxious glance behind them. The girls were really close by, but they were watching something on Alya’s phone, thank goodness, so it was unlikely they’d heard.

“I’m just saying, you walked into the jaws of death for her,” Nino said, jerking his thumb at the Ladybug coaster over his shoulder.

“Haha, very funny. For your information, I _wanted_ to go on the coaster.”

“Right, right.” Nino nodded. “Because you thought it’d be fun, right? Was it?”

“Yes,” Adrien said honestly.

“Liar! We heard you screaming in terror from all the way down here, and before you even try to deny it, Alya filmed the whole thing.”

Adrien wheeled around, and Marinette looked up from the phone to smirk at him. Alya smirked, too, and turned up the volume so they could all hear his yowling. Nino laughed.

_I’ve got some bad luck, all right. But…_ He looked between the three of them, and thought of Ladybug. _Some good friends, too. Fair trade._

“Bumper cars, you guys,” he reminded his friends, and Alya and Nino raced off.

Marinette stayed behind, though. “Thank you, by the way. That wouldn’t have been half as fun without you.”

He knew exactly what she meant. Despite what he’d told Nino, he hadn’t really wanted to go on the Ladybug today, assuming it wouldn’t be much fun without his partner. He was wrong; it was tons of fun with Marinette by his side. Which kinda made him think…

“You know, if that Chat Noir roller coaster you were talking about turns out anything like Ladybug’s, you’re gonna need me,” he told her, smiling. “So I don’t wanna hear any more jokes about how I belong in the garbage, okay?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked. “I’ve got at least a year before that coaster comes out. I gotta get the _trash talk_ in now and then _clean up my act_ later.”

“Marinette. No.”

“I’ll beat you to the bumper cars!” she told him.

She did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a good thing the puns are _supposed_ to be cringey... 
> 
> Anyways, this was tons of fun to write so I might write a sequel about Chat's coaster, or one where both Ladybug's coaster and Chat's are relocated to their own theme park (it's probably called Miraculous, let's be real) because I have so many ideas for rides based on the Akuma victims... Starting with a merry-go-round that has no horses or unicorns, just pigeons. Only pigeons. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you're having a great day!


End file.
